Brick Memorial Key Club Earns 2 International Awards

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Memorial Key Club takes its mission of service very, very seriously. Over the years, the club has raised thousands of dollars for various causes, from juvenile diabetes to hunger relief, and put in hundreds of hours of community service.

For the 2016-17 school year, those efforts earned the Brick Memorial Key Club two international honors at the Key Club International Convention this summer.

The club, which had 154 members last year, making it one of the largest student organizations in the school won third place in the platinum division for a Single Service Project organized by a club of 85 members or more. The award recognized the club's efforts in the Gobble Gallop Walk-A-Thon and TurKEY Pie Night, both held in November 2016.

"This Thanksgiving-themed dinner and walk were held to help raise money and awareness of the fight against hunger in New Jersey," acting Superintendent Dennis Filippone said. Money from the walk and the dinner were added to other fundraising events which led to a donation of $5,025 to the New Jersey Federation of Food Banks, and specifically the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean County.

In addition, the Brick Memorial Key Club was honored as an Internationally Distinguished Diamond Club. That title is given to clubs who achieve performance in the combined areas of club administration, membership, leadership development, service, and fund-raising, and Brick Memorial was one of only 50 clubs in the world to receive the honor.

The Key Club is the largest student-led service organization in the world and is a junior partner of the Kiwanis Club, an adult service organization. Currently there are hundreds of Key Clubs in 38 countries around the world, according to the Key Club International website. Key Club operates to make a positive difference in members' homes, schools, and communities.

The Brick Memorial Key Club has received international honors previously. In 2005, the club received a trophy at the Key Club International convention for taking first place for a single service project, and the club took third place overall in 2001 and third place in the platinum division in the 2008-09 school year.

The club also was honor at the state level, taking first place in the Platinum Single Service Project Award Gobble Gallop Walk-A-Thon and TurKEY Pie Night; second place for District Project Fundraising $5025; third place for District Project Service Hours; first place in the Major Emphasis Project "Children: Their Future, Our Focus;" second place, Platinum Club Achievement Award; International Distinguished Club, and third place Kiwanis Family Relations Award, the club's adviser, Ann Marie Tarnowski, said. BMHS Golden Member Chiara Fune was the lieutenant governor of District 8 last year, Tarnowski said.

The club's officers for 2016-17 were: President JC Barbour; Vice President Brian Gerard; Vice President David Yanovsky; Secretary Meg Rennar; Treasurer Emma Ericksen; and Editor Sydney Iannarone. The officers for 2017-18 are: President JC Barbour; Vice President Brian Gerard; Vice President Gianna Sanchez; Secretary Kayle Martin; Treasurer Jared Ericksen; and Editor Chris Wozniak. There were more than 175 students who turned out for the Key Club's first meeting in 2017, Tarnowski said.

Key Club aims to ... provide high school students with invaluable experience in living and working together and to prepare them for useful citizenship," the organization said. "In doing so, we hope to promote and accept the following ideals:

• To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life.
• To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships.
• To promote the adoption and application of higher standards in scholarship, sportsmanship and social contacts.
• To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive and serviceable citizenship.
• To provide a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render unselfish service and to build better communities.
• To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which makes possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism and good will.

The Brick Memorial group is currently raising funds and taking donations to assist hurricane victims and will be participating in the Walk to Fight Alzheimer's in Point Pleasant Beach on Saturday, marching in honor of the JROTC instructor from the school who died earlier this year. It also has set a goal of raising $6,325 in its Gobble Walk and TurKEY Pie events to assist the Food Bank again.

Acting Superintendent Dennis Filippone presents a certificate from the Brick Township School District to Key Club adviser Ann Marie Tarnowski at the Brick Board of Education meeting. Photo by Karen Wall